Dream come true for Deano

Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) Football Club is located in North London. The club is also known as Spurs. Tottenham's home ground is White Hart Lane. The club motto is Audere est Facere (To dare is to do).

Dean Marney revealed that he only found out he was to make his full Spurs debut against Manchester United just two hours before kick-off at Old Trafford.

The 20-year-old midfielder broke into the first team picture at the beginning of the season when he made substitute appearances in our first two games before niggling injuries stifled his progress.

He headed out on loan to QPR for a loan spell in January that didn't prove particularly successful, but he has certainly shone in recent reserve games and earned his chance on the big stage.

Dean started on the right on midfield, switching to left after the break before making way for Jamie Redknapp on 65 minutes. His natural pace nearly made an impact on the game in the opening minutes when a dash down the flank resulted in a teasing low cross that Robbie Keane was just short of connecting with.

Although the eventual scoreline was a disappointment, the day will clearly stick in the mind of the Academy graduate.

"I was obviously delighted when I was told that I was starting - it was a dream come true really," he reflected in the tunnel afterwards. "I only knew at about 1pm so I didn't have too long to think about it, it probably worked out better like that, I suppose. If I had known before I would have been up all night thinking about it.

"I was really pleased, the gaffer and Chris showed a lot of faith in me to put me in for a game like this," added Dean who, even when added to the squad, did not envisage a starting role.

"When I found out I was making the trip I was just really pleased to be back in the squad, to be honest. It is the first time I've been back in since going to QPR.

"Then Chrissie said that I had a chance to be involved and I thought, at best, it might be a place on the bench. To start was a dream for me. It is something I've dreamed of since I've been at Tottenham, to make my full debut and I don't think - apart from White Hart Lane - that there is a better place to do it.

"It will be a day I will always remember, I don't think it was really a 3-0 game. We started off well before they had a little period and we looked pretty dangerous at the start of the second half. Two late goals made it look a bit of an unfair scoreline."